Han Dong-hoon, Ministry of Justice's 'Personnel Verification Team' Praised by Opposition: "Need to View It Anew"

Lee Won-wook "From the perspective of decentralization, it can be seen as decentralizing authority from Cheongwadae to ministries"
"Even if the party pushes it, a space for communication must be open for those with differing opinions"
Kim Jong-min "Yoon government lacks procedural democracy... It is right to fight against the Personnel Verification Team and the Police Bureau"

Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the launch ceremony of the Carbon Neutral K-Tech Forum held at the National Assembly on the 5th, delivering a congratulatory speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] On the 26th, Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, drew attention by mentioning the "positive function" of establishing a personnel verification team in the Ministry of Justice. He pointed out that the Democratic Party should judge this issue by considering both its positive functions and problems at once, but it seems to have been caught in a "frame that it is unconditionally wrong."

At the "Democratic Party Reflection and Innovation Continuous Forum" held at the National Assembly, Lee said, "Political parties cannot ask for opinions on all matters, so they delegate to some extent, but in some cases, when an issue is framed, many people cannot speak because it feels like opposing the party's stance," bringing up the Ministry of Justice's personnel verification team. He said, "There are criticisms that establishing a personnel verification team in the Ministry of Justice and a police bureau in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is wrong, but I have doubts about this," adding, "Procedural issues can be pointed out, but looking at the system, it is a transfer of authority from the Blue House (Presidential Office) to the ministries, which means the weakening of the Blue House's authority."

Lee stated, "There may be controversy over whether the prosecution should handle personnel matters, but in the past, various materials related to personnel verification were all destroyed or designated as presidential records at the end of an administration's term, making accumulation impossible," and added, "If it is transferred to the ministry like the current Ministry of Justice personnel verification team, materials can be accumulated and evidence will remain."

He continued, "I get the impression that we need to look at the realm of governance and the daily operation of the government in a new way," and said, "We can talk about such positive functions, but if we say this now, we become traitors within the party. How can we protect such intra-party democracy?" He emphasized, "We need to create channels that can listen to diverse opinions," and said, "Even if the party pushes forward, it is necessary to at least open a space for communication for those who have different opinions."

On the other hand, Kim Jong-min, a Democratic Party member, expressed opposition to current issues such as the Ministry of Justice personnel verification team while sympathizing with Lee's intention. He said, "I generally agree that we need to overcome the 'one voice' (forcing a single voice within the party) atmosphere. The essence of competence lies in democracy," but pointed out procedural problems with the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's establishment of the Ministry of Justice personnel verification team.

Kim said, "Decentralizing the Blue House's authority to ministries is positive," but "Decentralization must be democratic. The Ministry of Justice personnel verification team is formally decentralization, but substantively it will be monopolized by regional power brokers." He added, "Personnel authority should go to the Central Personnel Committee or the Ministry of Personnel Innovation, but giving personnel power to the Ministry of Justice is called decentralization, but it is actually a monopoly of power."

He continued, "The transfer of the Blue House's civil affairs chief's authority to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety can be seen as decentralization, but if the minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is a close aide of the president, it means the president is controlling it," and said, "It is right to strengthen administrative or democratic control through the Police Commission to enhance civic oversight." He added, "I believe it is right to resist the regression of the police history, which became independent from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the National Police Agency after 1991." While agreeing with the need to create a party culture where internal disagreements can be discussed, he said that the Ministry of Justice personnel verification team and the establishment of the police bureau in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety are issues of a different dimension.

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